Top 10 Most Disgusting Jobs in the World

Each job is unique in the work it involves and each has its own set of requirements which must be met in order to successfully carry out the duties listed in the job description. Some jobs often demand a whole list of educational qualifications from only the world’s swankiest universities. Others require specific skill sets, personal qualities and aptitudes, as well as what often seems like a billion years of previous experience.

However, a working knowledge of Javascript, physical strength or a head for numbers will get you nowhere in the following 10 jobs, where the main requirement you’ll need to meet is basically have a stomach of steel.

Here are the 10 grossest, most disgusting, gut-wrenching jobs in the world.

10. Pee Collector

If you’ve ever watched Jurassic Park 3, you probably cringed a little bit when you realised just how young Eric came to collect T-Rex pee while stranded on Isla Sorna. I say ‘a little bit’ because, deep down, you knew it was just a movie and, therefore, totally fictional.

That said, however, pee collector is a very real, albeit very gross, job – and there are many areas you can ‘specialise’ in.

Orangutan pee collectors, for example, lay down large plastic sheets or attach plastic bags to poles in the hope of catching adequate ape urine samples to study the factors that affect their reproduction.

Deer urine farmers, on the other hand, are tasked with collecting and selling Bambi’s urine to deer hunters who then use the scent to attract other deer and – BAM! – loin of venison with broccoli and stilton purée and red wine sauce!

9. Manure Inspector

The job of a manure inspector is pretty straightforward. They are tasked with collecting farm animal poop and testing the samples to make sure they are free from contaminants so that any harmful materials do not spread to infect vegetation, animals or consumers like you and me.

It’s a sh*tty job, but someone’s got to do it. (Ba dum, tss.)

8. Barnyard Masturbator

If you love animals, you might consider becoming a dog walker, zookeeper or even a marine animal trainer. The last job that will come to mind, though, is barnyard masturbator, a job that requires giving farm animals a different kind of ‘love’ which is pretty much borderline bestiality.

To put it not-so-eloquently: you’ll spend your day giving farm animals hand jobs all in the name of artificial insemination. Let’s face it: it can be a lot of ‘hard’ work. (Again: ba dum, tss.)

7. Vomit Collector

Rollercoasters can often be a stomach-churning experience, and the accounts of people throwing up after (and sometimes during) the ride are plentiful (I’m certain there’s video footage on YouTube to evidence this, but let’s not look it up). The question, though, is: who the hell cleans up all that vomit?

At Thorpe Park, that would be Rhys Owens, who was hired in 2009 to keep the park’s most extreme ride, SAW – The Ride, vomit-free. That’s right, Mr Owens’ job description is to clean people’s vomit which, in 2008, amounted to an estimated 150 litres over 619 ‘sick shutdowns’. At least he gets to ride the rollercoaster when not picking up chunks of sick.

6. Odour Judge

There have been some pretty bizarre jobs in the world over the course of history, from orgy planners in Ancient Rome to fake wedding guests in modern Japan, so the existence of odour judges should come as no real surprise.

However, what exactly is it that odour judges do? Well, they use chemistry and their noses to accurately identify and adjust scents of just about any product, from nail polishes to microwavable meals. They are also tasked with sniffing and carrying out odour tests on armpits, cat litter, breath, feet and even nappies. Exactly: gross.

5. Clinical Waste Disposal Worker

Have you ever wondered what happens to clinical waste, including used dressings, needles, out-of-date medicines, denatured drugs, blood bags, amputated limbs, and human tissues and organs? Well, according to UK legislation, they must be properly disposed of (i.e., by incineration) to prevent harm being caused to the environment and human health.

In other words, there are people whose job it is to cook body parts for a living basically, and they’re called clinical waste disposal workers. To make things even more disturbing, the scent of ‘cooking’ is apparently described as a combination of burning rubber, bad body odour and smelly feet.

4. Hazmat Diver

Working as a hazmat diver is perhaps the ultimate dirty job in the world. Their work typically involves diving into raw sewage or dangerous chemicals like paper pulp and oil sludge. Divers are, therefore, subjected to a series of vaccinations for all kinds of diseases, like hepatitis and tetanus, and they are required to undergo decontamination after each dive.

As a hazmat diver, you could be tasked with performing essential maintenance of underwater valves and sluice gates, working in septic tanks, diving in landfill sites to maintain pumping equipment and – yes – even finding bodies.

3. Forensic Entomologist

There are many options available to you if you want to work with dead people (perhaps because they’re unable to complain about your work), and coroners and funeral directors are obvious choices. One option that you might not have thought of, though, is forensic entomologist, a job that requires a strong stomach and, dare I say it, a love for insects.

Forensic entomologists are scientists who study the life cycles of insects and arthropods found on – you got it – decomposed cadavers during legal and criminal investigations to determine how long a person has been dead.

2. Crime Scene Cleaner

We often see detectives and FBI agents on TV shows like CSI and Criminal Minds visit blood-splattered crime scenes as part of solving some pretty nasty murders, but what we rarely see is what happens to the crime scenes afterwards. More specifically, we’re left wondering who cleans up crime scenes. And the answer is – perhaps unimaginatively named – crime scene cleaners.

Their rather horrifying and disgusting job entails cleaning up blood, bodily fluids and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM), often at sites where violent crimes have been committed. Also known as biohazard cleaners, these professionals also deal with cleaning up after accidents, suicides, homicides and decomposition after unattended death.

1. Sewer Cleaner

Not only is this one of the most disgusting jobs in the world, it’s also one of the most dangerous. In fact, it’s estimated that more than 100 sewer workers die each year across India from accidents, suffocation or exposure to toxic gases, and unions claim it’s because they are not given any safety equipment to do their jobs.

Sewer cleaners are employed to climb into sewers, often chest-deep, filled with human excrement and occasionally dead dogs and rats, and use metal scrapers, brooms and even their bare hands to clear drainage and sanitation lines – all for a measly £3.50 a day!

If you thought you had the worst job in the world, think again. There’s always someone worse off than you, so think of the brave souls who have to ‘cook’ body parts, climb chest-deep into sewers and give bulls handjobs for a living.

Can you think of any other disgusting jobs that we forgot to include but deserve a place on this list? Join the conversation below and let us know!

It has been difficult to obtain salary information for the jobs listed in this article, as they’re not exactly what one might call traditional jobs. However, it’s safe to say that most of them pay well (or at least we hope they do).